It’s highly likely that the oft-criticised “Big 3” of LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, and Anthony Davis will remain intact next season, which is bad news if you’re a Lakers fan.
After all, this core is fresh from a disappointing 2021/22 season where they couldn’t even make it to the NBA play-in tournament as they finished with a 33-49 record – good for only 11th in the Western Conference.
On the other hand, James Harden is taking a different approach this free agency in order to help the Sixers build a competitive group that could vie for a championship, while the Suns have maintained their title contending core by bringing back one of their key starters.
Read on below as SBOTOP reviews the latest NBA 2022 news.
Lakers to run it back since there’s no imminent trade
Since Russell Westbrook was a horrible fit alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis last season, the Lakers were looking to bolster their NBA 2022 odds by trading him for Kyrie Irving, who’s also in a patchy situation with the Nets.
The Lakers and the Nets went back and forth with their trade proposals for a possible mega swap, but talks have bogged down, so it’s likely that both teams will be sticking to the status quo next season.
Furthermore, Chris Haynes from Yahoo Sports recently reported that Westbrook, James, and Davis huddled up over the phone to re-affirm their commitment to one another in their pursuit of a title.
Russell Westbrook is about to earn $47-M for the 2022/23 season after exercising his player option before he becomes a free agent in the summer of 2023 alongside LeBron James, while Anthony Davis’ current contract runs up to 2023/24.
The 2017 MVP has also parted ways with his longtime agent Thad Foucher of Wasserman after they apparently disagreed over his Lakers future. Foucher had represented Westbrook since the beginning of his NBA career.
The Lakers fired head coach Frank Vogel at the end of last season and they replaced him with Darvin Ham, who has been vocal about Westbrook’s starting role ahead of next season.
James Harden makes a huge sacrifice
The wise financial move for James Harden was to opt in of his $47.4-M player option for the 2022/23 season. But instead, he declined in order to give the Sixers more flexibility.
Harden mentioned that he talked with Sixers president Daryl Morey about their cap situation and said that following their upcoming additions, he just wants “whatever is left over.”
“I told Daryl to improve the roster, sign who we needed to sign and give me whatever is left over. This is how bad I want to win. I want to compete for a championship,” said Harden.
The Beard was traded to the Sixers by the Nets last February to team up with Joel Embiid, but they only went to as far as the Eastern Conference semi-finals since they were eliminated by the top-seeded Heat.
Harden not opting in was a blessing in disguise for the Sixers since he hasn’t lived up to his market value with his subpar campaign, but to be fair, he was bothered by multiple injuries all throughout this past season.
So far this summer, Philadelphia have done just that by bringing in De’Anthony Melton, Danuel House, and PJ Tucker on a three-year deal.
Deandre Ayton extends Suns stay after almost switching teams
Deandre Ayton plans to put free agency behind him as he’s ready to run it back with the Suns. For a while, there was some uncertainty surrounding his future as he couldn’t meet halfway with the team’s management.
He then signed a four-year $133-M max with Indiana since he was a restricted free agent, but Phoenix quickly matched the largest offer sheet in NBA history as soon as they received it.
Phoenix had an underwhelming campaign last season after making their second Finals appearance in franchise history during 2020/21. The Suns won an NBA-best 64 regular season games but were eventually eliminated by the Mavericks in the second round.
In Game 7 against Dallas, Ayton was benched after a confrontation with head coach Monty Williams. But looking back, the 23-year-old brushed off the notion that he and his coach don’t have a great relationship – which was reportedly the main reason why the Suns took too long to bring him back.
“Game 7 was an anomaly. We let that get away from us as a team. That is all in the past. We’re going to look forward. We are going to move on,” said Ayton.
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